


The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

by CrowKing



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, One Shot, Wholesome, cutesy bookstore, no real angst here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21771547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrowKing/pseuds/CrowKing
Summary: Loki’s been planning the perfect birthday party and he forgot to get you a present.
Relationships: Loki/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Loki sat down with a cup of hot coffee in his hands. The daunting list in front of him made this morning much more difficult than the morning before a mission. He cocked a good smile at the list.

“Tomorrow’s going to be perfect for you, darling,” Loki said to himself. He took a good sip of his coffee and grabbed a jacket to go off on errands. 

Loki met you after a production of Romeo and Juliet. Thor had gifted Loki a theatre patronage to the local theatre by the compound. After that Christmas where he saw A Christmas Carol for the first time, Loki decided Midgardians knew exactly how to tell great stories like they did on Asgard. Loki usually brought either Thor or Jane with him, but Steve had taken Loki’s offer more than once (secretly Steve and Loki loved going to a play or a musical together but neither said it out loud). 

Those who worked at the community theatre noticed Loki’s regular attendance and were more than appreciative. Once for Loki’s birthday, a favorite director put together a dinner show just for Loki only. That’s where you came in.

You’ve been acting and singing and dancing since you learned how to walk. Stage fright? We don’t know her. Your confidence in yourself and in other people made it so easy for you to get parts on stage. You played a fortune teller for Loki’s birthday, lead roles, small roles, and so many in between. Little did you know, you had charmed Loki so much so that he became your biggest fan.

Loki never had the courage to speak to you until he saw you as Juliet for the patron show. You had worked incredibly hard and it clearly showed. Several patrons and agents were impressed, if not moved by your performance. 

“I wish to speak with her, alone if I could,” Loki told the director. Your mind went in several different directions at once, but you gave him permission to speak with you alone. 

“Good evening, I’m—

“I know who you are,” you said, in a too defensive tone. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“I wanted to tell you congratulations. Your performance was unmatched. In fact, you are exactly what I imagined Juliet would be like when I read the play for the first time. Your-you have m-moved me. I-I cannot begin to—

Loki kept rambling. His words did not bounce off his tongue with expertise. They were jumbled and fell to the ground as if this was some boy with a crush.

Oh.

Oh.

You touched Loki’s arm and he stopped talking. “Would you like to get coffee to talk more about Shakespeare? I’m free next week.” Loki nodded enthusiastically and both of you exchanged numbers. The rest was history.

Loki walked out of your favorite bakery with a large birthday cake. The smell of vanilla and red velvet invaded Loki’s nose. A smile came to his face. He loaded it in the back of the director’s car. He jumped in on the passenger side.

“One question,” the director said. “are you ever going to learn how to drive?”

“Now, Daniel,” Loki mused. “How long have we been friends?”

“I’m take that as a no,” Daniel chuckled. “Where to next? We confirmed with the bookstore and now we have the cake.”

“Rae’s place. She told me she would have a box ready for me,” Loki said, studying his list.

“You know…this is really sweet of you to throw her a surprise party like this,” Daniel said. “She’s had a hard year.”

“That’s why I need this to be perfect,” Loki almost cut Daniel off. “Her depression is worse than everyone thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Loki shifted in his seat. “She had a breakdown last week.”

“Oh. Was it about the New York audition?”

“She can’t shake it off. She doesn’t think she’s good enough anymore.” The car slowed to a full stop, and Loki jumped out of the car. He grabbed a large tote full of twinkly Christmas lights and put that in the back of the car. Daniel continued the conversation as they headed to the independent bookstore. 

“I know Lloyd’s Playhouse isn’t Broadway, but we love her here. You love here!” Daniel sighed. “I don’t mean to put pressure on you, but I remember the last time she got like this and—

“I don’t need a reminder,” Loki purposely cut him off. “Y/N’s mom told me. She also threatened me if I ever hurt her little girl.” Loki chuckled. You never put pressure on anyone to do anything for you, but Loki knew. Everyone knew. You needed a good reminder how loved you really were. Loki wanted to remind you how special you were to everyone and him.

The pressure to make your birthday perfect was on.

The independent bookstore is where you spent most of your afternoons growing up. It wasn’t a far walk from your school. In high school, you got a part time job there. Your part time job turned into a full time one in college. Now, as a theatre teacher and bookstore manager, the bookstore served as your paradise. 

A perfect place for a birthday party.

Twinkly Christmas lights were placed with care on tops of bookshelves and lining the ceiling throughout the store. As if Loki brought down the stars of the sky and put them in your favorite place. The red velvet and cream cheese cake sat chilling in the bookstore’s fridge. You wouldn’t be there tomorrow. You wouldn’t see it until tomorrow night. Friends from the stage made a giant print out for a photo booth.

Another friend from the local printing shop had made a canvas sized portrait of you for everyone to leave their birthday wishes on. Loki took care of the main piece. A Christmas tree filled with your favorite things. Clear ornaments filled with book quotes from Wilde to Austen. Tiny Harry Potter ornaments flew to the top of the tree. Handmade ornaments from your students at school decorated the tree. 

Every piece put in place to show you how many people loved you. Loki sighed looking around at his work. Tomorrow this place would be filled with your family and friends and he hoped he did enough.

The next day you woke up to a sweet, smelling breakfast. You watched Loki put down a bag of donuts and a cinnamon dolce latte next to you.

“Still working on cooking huh?”

“Truthfully, I woke up later than I wanted to,” Loki admitted, placing a kiss on your forehead. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.” You dug into the latte and donuts. Cinnamon and sugar filled your mouth with joy. 

“You said you had a day planned for us?” you asked in between bites.

“Almost, but yes,” Loki gestured to your closet. “Brunch with your mom first. She says ‘it’s tradition. Boyfriend or not.” You rolled your eyes. Your single mother had protected you from every man you ever dated. You slipped on a warm sweater with leggings. The color of your boots matched the color of your scarf and you felt like the coziest birthday girl the world could offer. 

Soon you found yourself in front of a delicious breakfast. You wanted to dig into the cheesy scrambled eggs first, but your mom interrupted the first bite. A small box was placed in front of you.

“What’s this?” you said to your mom.

“You’ll see. Open it,” your mom sat back and waited for your reaction. Loki started to look nervous. You opened the small box to find a key, not jewelry. You looked at your mom with more confusion than happiness.

She smiled warmly at you. “The house. It’s yours.”

“You’re giving me your house?!” you shouted, interrupting two nearby tables. “Mom!”

“Y/N!” your mom laughed at you. “I don’t need a house that big anymore. Besides, Annette finally convinced me to move in with her. We think it’s time for you to settle down.” Your mom winked at Loki. His face turned red.

“Mom! This is-wha-I can’t,” you never thought a house would ever fall into your lap like this. You watched your mom grow a little teary eyed and answered her with a giant hug. A low, sinking feeling took over Loki in that moment. He had spent all his time and energy planning your party that he had forgotten to get you a gift.

And now your mother gave you her own house. How the hell was he going to—

“Isn’t this the most amazing thing?” you exclaimed, snapping Loki away from his thoughts. You jingled the keys in front of him. “I can get out of that small apartment! I can make art on the walls! You could—oh.”

“Oh?” Loki nudged you. 

“I was gonna say you could live with me, but…”

“I see,” Loki answered, remembering his deal with the Avengers. “We’ll see. Coulson says I’ve made a lot of progress so far. Clint has a house with his family. It’s not impossible.” The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent walking through the beautiful window displays downtown. Each window had different themes. 

Loki watched you fawn over the tiny couple ice skating, and it gave Loki a good idea. Until Steve took it first.

There was a mission that night, so the Avengers planned an afternoon with you. Steve had never gone ice skating before. So, Tony with his money and magic, made one for everyone. Loki sat at the sidelines. His hands ran through his long, dark hair.

“You seem annoyed. Does Steve really make you that jealous?” Clint asked.

“No, well yes, but no.” Loki answered. “I forgot to get her a gift.”

“Oh. Ouch. Does she know?”

“No. She has no idea. I feel like whatever I get her now is just—

“—not good enough,” Clint looked out to see you and Steve smiling and laughing while holding onto each other. Nat effortlessly caught it all on her phone. “Just be honest with her.”

“And tell her I forgot to get her something? That would break her.”

“And it would turn into a fight,” Clint knowingly said. “The sooner you learn that fights can build a better relationship, the better. Lying to someone you love only hurts over time.”

“How long did you hide your career from your wife?”

“A long time. She almost left me with our first son. I loved both of them, and I lied to them. I lied to my wife and my son.”

“So, you told her everything?”

“And we’re still happy,” Clint patted Loki’s back. “Birthdays are birthdays. There will be more of them. What matters now is if you’re honest with her about it.” Clint’s opinion left Loki with a lot of thoughts. He managed to get through the whole day without mentioning presents. Every second he felt guiltier. 

Her mom gave her a house. The Avengers gave her an afternoon filled with memories and ice skating. Now, the surprise party. Loki remembered his cues.

“Oh! I forgot. I need to stop by the bookstore to pick up something for my mother. Is it alright if we go?” Loki asked you. When you nodded, Loki held onto your hand tightly. Finally, he felt confident in what he was doing today. You opened the door to the bookstore to find a room filled with your friends and family cheering ‘Happy Birthday!’ to you. 

You took several steps back and Loki caught your balance. Tears filled your eyes once again. Hugs and kisses came around all around. All of these smiling faces were here to see you. Friends started to give you funny birthday cards and others had small gifts like candles and homemade bookmarkers. Loki’s heart sank even more.

Even the simplest gifts with little cost meant the world to you. Your eyes widened at your friends’ jokes and gifts. Then, you started pushing people out of the way. Loki followed you until you saw the Christmas tree. The first thing you saw was a beautifully made witch’s hat on top of the tree. It was yours. You wore it every year to retell infamous Halloween folklore.

Then you saw your students’ handiwork. How each one was made for you. Playbills from each of your plays were placed intricately on the tree skirt. Your favorite foods, your favorite places, and your favorite memories were all ornaments on the tree. Daniel, your first theatre mentor, came up to you gently. 

“Loki did all of this, by the way,” he whispered to you. “He planned everything to the last detail. He even did this tree himself. He wouldn’t let me touch it.” You laughed, and thought ‘how did I ever get this lucky’

Loki opened his arms for you and you gladly accepted it. You looked up at him.

“Thank you for everything. Today was perfect,” you smiled.

“No, it’s not,” Loki started. “I didn’t get you anything.”

“What?” you let Loki go.

“I got caught up in everything, and I forgot to get you a present,” Loki came clean.

“But the tree?”

“The tree was meant as a reminder. Everyone here loves you. Everyone here thinks you’re good enough. To me, you’re perfect. I hope you can forgive me,” Loki bowed his head. He was ready for you to blow a gasket. He was surprised when you gave him another hug.

“You did all of this and you feel guilty for not getting me anything?” you laughed. Your finger booped his nose. “You’re so dramatic. Maybe you should try acting.” You kissed him on his cheek and flew off to enjoy the rest of the party. Daniel walked up to Loki afterwards.

“You forgot to get her something didn’t you?”

“How did you guess?” Loki laughed. Both of them watched you smiling and finally enjoying yourself after a long time of depression. “I love her.”

“Oh, everybody knows that,” Daniel said.

“Then, allow me to share a secret with you,” Loki smiled.

“Oh?” Daniel said, leaning in as a joke.

“Next year on her birthday,” Loki whispered. “I’m going to ask her to marry me.”


End file.
